Minor Moves: Hewitt, Lutz, Tuiasosopo, Piazza

The Phillies have released former first-round pick Anthony Hewitt, the team’s Class-A affiliate announced. The third-baseman-turned-outfielder was selected 24th overall in 2008 but failed to progress beyond the Double-A level and has authored a .223/.264/.370 slash line in his minor league career.

The Mets have granted infielder Zach Lutz his release so that he may sign with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reported yesterday. In a followup tweet, he added that Lutz’s rights were sold to the Golden Eagles, so there will be some monetary compensation for the Mets. The 28-year-old Lutz was in the midst of a solid season with Triple-A Las Vegas, batting .291/.386/.449 with seven home runs (albeit in a very hitter-friendly environment). He appeared with the Mets’ big league club in 2013, slashing .300/.462/.400 in 26 trips to the plate.

The White Sox have acquired outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo Bisons) announced on Twitter (h/t to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star). Toronto claimed the out-of-options Tuiasosopo off waivers late in the spring and then outrighted him to Triple-A. The 28-year-old has a .206/.289/.271 slash in 242 plate appearances on the year for Buffalo.

The Rockies have signed free agent righty Mike Piazza to a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Not to be confused with the catcher by the same name, Piazza is a 27-year-old righty who spent his entire career in the Angels organization, never moving past the Double-A level, before joining the independent Laredo Lemurs this year.

Buddy Carlyle has accepted a minor league assignment from the Mets, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). The 36-year-old righty was designated for assignment on June 4.

The Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Adron Chambers from the Astros in exchange for two young minor leaguers, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). Chambers, 27, saw limited action with the Cardinals over 2011-13 before signing a minor league deal with Houston. He has posted a .281/.356/.416 line in 102 plate appearances at Triple-A. Heading back to the Astros in the deal are youngsters Alejandro Solarte, a left-handed pitcher, and Will Dupont, an infielder.

The Marlins have released right-handed reliever Henry Rodriguez, according to the PCL transactions page. Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the Fish over the offseason, but lasted only 1 2/3 frames at the big league level when he issued five free passes in that span. He had worked to a 4.26 ERA in 25 1/3 minor league innings, though that mark came with 14 wild pitches and an interesting strikeout-to-walk ratio of 14.6 K/9 against 13.5 BB/9. Rodriguez possesses a huge arm with a devastating slider and change, but has simply never been able to control his stuff consistently.